World Art Day is celebrated annually on April 15 to promote the development, diffusion and enjoyment of art and also create more avenues for engagement and awareness of the diversity of artistic expressions.
World Art Day is recognised by the United Nations to focus on artists and their works in line with their intersection with societal issues. It was celebrated in Nigeria with fewer activities and recognition based on the prevailing socio-economic realities.
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While the country is still grappling with the effects of coronavirus and other social ills, artists bemoaned the lack of recognition they get despite their vital roles in assisting Nigerians overcome some of these challenges.
Ms Audrey Azoulay, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) in her message to celebrate World Art Day described it as a timely reminder that art has the power to unite and connect in times of crisis.
“The time of COVID-19 is thus, undeniably, also a time of opening up towards others and to culture, which reinforces the relationship between artistic creation and society. To weather the crisis and inspire the future, we need not only educational continuity but also cultural continuity: neither learning nor culture must stop,” she said.
In Nigeria, the celebration was spearheaded by the National Gallery of Art (NGA), an agency of the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture through an exhibition and art contest for primary and secondary schools students. Themed, ‘Visual Art: A Tool for Addressing Social Ills,” works of artists on display showcased how art could be pivotal to eliminating social ills.
Among works on display was an acrylic on canvas painting by Eneji Peter titled ‘Wear a broken smile,’ which tells the story of a young girl navigating through the pandemic. Also on display were works from Nelly Idagba, lawyer and visual artist on gender inequality.
Works from Samuel Akpara, Chris Obadan, Steve Bala Afen’oko, Agunwa Theophilus, Lilian Chizoba Pilaku among other great artists ensured a well-spent evening for guests at the exhibition.
Students were not left out as Ukoka Mercy Chioma, a student of Community Secondary School, Asokoro, Abuja mixed media work on drug abuse and Amina Yusuf Ali, a student of Great Heights Academy, Abuja’s poster colour on paperwork on oil bunkering was also on display.
The coordinator of the World Art Day in Nigeria and an official of the National Gallery of Art, Ibrahim Adamu, said though the celebration started in Nigeria in 2017, it was yet to get the deserved credit while artists are also far from being recognised appropriately.
“I still feel Nigerian art is not well projected and the artists are not better seen. They are trying their best; not only about remuneration but they are not well appreciated. Today is an opportunity for appreciating the artists but we are still a long way to Eldorado,” he said.
Adamu said the journey to a place of great riches and recognition for Nigerian artists, as crucial agents to eliminating social ills in the country is still far away because the artists are not well appreciated and are working within the biased market.
“They will not be free to project what they actually see; they will be projecting what you want to see. If the buyers are those who would not want these kinds of images and messages to come out, those messages will never come out because they won’t buy it and the artist will go hungry,” he stated.
The chairman, Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter of the Society of Nigerian Artists, Chike Emembo, said artists’ struggle for balance affects their contributions to speaking against social ills through their works.
“They mirror the conscience of the society as such it is expected that they do that in a way that will enable them to continue their works and still reach their audiences. That balance is key. The objective is to be heard and possibly inspire some change. When the work is well received, artists are encouraged to continue,” the art entrepreneur said.
He, however, said visual artists have not been directly muzzled in doing social commentaries with their work, but that continued support from institutions (as we have seen with the support for gender equality over the past few years) will definitely inspire artists to do more.”
The Executive Director, International Institute for Creative Development, Nduwhite Ndubuisi Ahanonu, said artists are important to society because, “our role is to intervene on some of the things that society thinks are normal and every artists or art that does not have a message should just belong to the artist and the studio because your duty, the gift given to you, is a divine vocation to highlight and give better meanings to society.”
He said artists have been trying their best in meaning-making and addressing social ills, adding that any artist that does not address social ills has not started creating, except where he is creating to survive.
“Look at history, all the works that had lived beyond history are works that have social relevance because rape in the 18th century is the same rape happening now,” he said.
He said despite the efforts of the artists, society has become numb, only living for the momentary reaction on seeing the works but maintained that artists should not be deterred from their roles in society.
Adamu said things would remain the same unless an enabling environment that allows communities, associations that are into art are comfortable is created.
He said: “If there is financial assistance to be given to artisans, look for the artists because the artists will tell the story better than the artisans. The younger minds are the strongest forces that we have right now. So look out for them and make sure that they are properly positioned either in knowledge or in finance. We need to engage the younger minds because societal ills are more endemic within the younger minds.”
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